Simple and Clean
by Wind-Blown Chaos
Summary: All she wanted was a simple transition from friendship to a relationship.  He wanted that too, but something happened.  Now, can they remain close, let alone friends?  OotoriOC.
1. Prelude: The calm before the storm

**_Simple and Clean_**  
**Disclaimer:** Do not own PoT. Wish I could, but I'm not _that_ rich to be able to buy it off.  
**Warning:** Slight OOCness and non-yaoi. Furthermore, this chapter is kind of like a mind rant. It will get much more interesting after this.  
**Setting:** Hyotei Gakuen. So no Seigaku (but I love them too!).  
**Summary:** After a little incident of catching her fellow regular in a closet with Shishido Ryou, Li Sairi begins wondering about her friendship with Ootori Choutarou.  
**Pairing:** OotoriOC, alotofRegularsOC (different OCs)  
**A/N:** Suffering from horrible, horrible writers block. Or a lack of inspiration thereof. So I decided to write something based solely on the fact that both Ootori Choutarou and Date Koji are cute (and that Date does an incredible job playing Choutarou). Based on a previous one-shot I posted about one of female regulars on the team. Rather than focus on Kuroda Rio, the regular caught making out with Shishido, we focus on Li Sairi, another regular. I am trying my BEST not to make her a Mary-Sue because I HATE THEM.

This story was named after one of my favorite songs ever. Simple and Clean from Kingdom Hearts! Actually, this story has gone through three name changes...

So, first chapter basically introduces you to the OCs, and sets up the rest of the story.

---

Prelude: The calm before the storm

---

The memory would forever be carved into her brain.

Hearing something akin to moaning within the storage closet, Li Sairi decided that she would go get Sakaki-sensei to open it up and figure out what was going on inside of there. This was very hard, since she was balancing two carts full of tennis balls and some of Ootori's equipment, seeing as she was helping him clean up. And Ootori Choutarou was tall. 185 cm to be exact. For someone only 165 cm, it was very hard to keep his jacket from dragging on the ground.

And when Sakaki-sensei finally opened up the door, there was her senpai, Kuroda Rio, making out with Shishido Ryou.

Everyone present proceeded to snicker, including her. The thought of them going out was certainly plausible in her mind, but she had never expected the two of them to be so bold as to make out in a closet. Rio-senpai had always hated Shishido's guts for various logical and illogical reasons, and that hatred could be attributed to possible feelings for the dash specialist. Added on to that, Shishido teased her endlessly. So it was possible that he had feelings towards Rio-senpai as well.

But that left Ishikawa-buchou as the only third-year regular on the Hyotei girl's team without a boyfriend. Kira Sorano-senpai and Natsume Haruka-senpai were going out with Kikumaru Eiji and Fuji Shusuke from Seigaku respectively. A few days later, Rio-senpai and Shishido formally announced they were seeing each other.

That left the Singles 1, Doubles 1 and Singles 3 players still single. But seeing as the Doubles 1 regulars, which included herself and Nakasone Kotone, and the Singles 3 regular were only second years, they still had time. And plenty of suitors. Sairi was always annoyed by them.

It wasn't like she was seductively beautiful or anything. At the most, she was described as cute by Ootori, who was a close friend of hers (this prompted a hidden blush from her). But somehow the suitors seemed to praise all of her physical aspects. From her layered black hair that fell a little past her shoulders complete with bangs that were swept to the right to her sky blue eyes, which they would say were the "prettiest eyes in the world." Oh yes, they annoyed her. She sometimes wished that as they walked home, they would trip and split their heads open on a rock.

And how they berated Kotone too. Complementing her friend on how cute her short ash brown hair was with that single pink barrette to how bright her green eyes were. Kotone wished upon them the same fate.

Sairi couldn't decide which was scarier. The fangirls that the Hyotei boys' tennis team had or the fanboys that Hyotei girls' tennis team had.

This was one of the reasons she was friends with Ootori Choutarou. One: he wasn't a fanboy. And two: he was extremely polite and sweet with a little bit of sass (anyone who simply described Ootori as sweet did not know him well enough). Ootori liked her too. Ever since Sairi moved to Japan from America, she had been stuck in the same classes with him every year. Ootori had been the smartest in the class until she came and took his title of number 1. He accepted this rather well and almost seemed eager to talk to her. They made regulars on the tennis teams the same year, Ootori with his Scud Serves and Sairi with her acrobatic play.

The two of them had practiced together countless hours in order to make their positions. However, when Shishido asked Ootori to help get him back on the regulars, the practices together disappeared. Sairi began practicing more with Kotone instead. But this had not dampened their friendship. Every single moment in school, it seemed as if Ootori wanted to talk to her. And she didn't mind. He really was a great friend.

When Shishido made it back to the regulars and paired up with Ootori during the Kantou tournament, Rio-senpai said (with quite a degree of irritation) Shishido had just violated one of the most important rule of the universe: any regular who loses a game is dropped and can NEVER EVER regain his/her spot.

But Ootori was happy. Sairi decided that perhaps this Shishido wasn't as bad as Rio-senpai made him out to be. When Ootori introduced her personally to his doubles partner, she could see every reason why Rio-senpai could hate him, but overall thought that he was nice guy. If Ootori liked him, there must have been something nice about Shishido underneath that hard exterior.

And now seeing that Rio-senpai and Shishido were going out, Sairi started to wonder who would be the next female regular to be taken.

And she already knew what the rumors said. It would be her, and she would be taken by Ootori.

For the first time in the two years she had known Ootori, she began contemplating their relationship.

Ootori and she were certainly very close. She was about the only person in Hyotei whom he addressed on a first name basis and without any honorifics, and she addressed him in a similar manner. She loved talking to him, and he always seemed eager to talk to her every break they got. If anything, the only person she was this close to was her doubles partner, Kotone, and they had to be close in order to achieve synchronization.

But did she actually have feelings for him?

Sairi remembered how Ootori would always blush every time she complemented him. Heck, she even blushed when he complemented her too. Ootori was a very sweet boy, with a mischievous side and extremely big chocolate brown eyes. And his silver hair added to his cute appearance. For the first time in two years, Sairi admitted to herself that Ootori was extremely cute.

Added on to that, every time he stepped off the tennis courts he looked pretty damn ravageable. The way his face glistened with sweat and tiny beads of perspiration clung to his hair. How his jersey clung to his chest, revealing fine toned muscles. And how his brown eyes would still gaze softly at her.

And then the answer to her question hit her.

" Dammit! " She exclaimed in English, not realizing that she was right in the middle of class and now everyone was staring at her.

She quickly colored and was about to apologize to the teacher until he replied, "Why yes, Li-chan. That is a way to express frustration in English."

Right. She was in her English class. And was saved by a coincidence.

---

A/N:

So, my first attempt at making both member of the Silver Pair straight, and it's pretty damn painful. BECAUSE SHISHIDO AND CHOUTAROU ARE MEANT FOR EACH OTHER! But, seeing as I cannot write Silver Pair fanfics without voluntarily admitting myself into a mental ward, this must suffice (exaggeration…please do not be under to impression that I've actually done this).

I am truly surprised at myself. I finally managed to chuck out something I don't dislike. FINALLY! Maybe my writer's block is over!

And on the Chapter 2…shall be posted soon (meaning in less than a week).

W-B Chaos.


	2. Harbinger of Clouds

**Disclaimer:** OH I WISH  
**Warning:** Slight OOCness (because we can't assume Choutarou's really that sweet of a kouhai, right?), non-yaoi (why am I warning that there's no yaoi?!)  
**A/N:** So, another painful chapter that I've written through my writer's block. Here's brief summary:

After having her revelation in English, Sairi realizes that her feelings for Ootori might possibly make their friendship awkward. Ootori, on the other hand, has his own ideas in store.

---

Ch. 1 Harbinger of Clouds

---

English went by quite well. The whole class learned a new word, which was "dammit."

For Hiyoshi Wakashi, it was a bore. The only entertainment, he admitted, was watching Ootori eye Li Sairi.

If it wasn't already very obvious that Ootori liked Sairi. He talked to her all the time, and if he had no time to talk to her, he made time. He liked spending time with her. And Hiyoshi had overheard a certain conversation Ootori had with Shishido in the locker rooms the day before.

"_Choutarou?"_

"_Yes, Shishido-san?"_

"_Do you like Li-chan?"_

_The sound of various things crashing to the ground. "Shishido-san!"_

"_Calm down, Choutarou. I was only asking. But do you like her?"_

"_I…"_

"_You're red."_

"_Shishido-san! I am not!"_

"_You're blushing, Choutarou…"_

"_Okay, I do."_

"_It's not embarrassing to admit it, Choutarou."_

"_But do you think that she likes me?"_

"_Maybe. Ask her."_

"_I couldn't possibly do that, Shishido-san!"_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because…it might make things awkward. I don't know. It might ruin our friendship."_

"_Choutarou."_

"_What is it, Shishido-san?"_

"_For how long have you liked this girl?"_

"_About two years."_

"_Isn't it time for you to ask her then?"_

"_Maybe…"_

Hiyoshi agreed with Shishido. If it wasn't already blatantly obvious. Sairi should have noticed something by now.

But then again, Sairi was the type of girl who would never believe anything unless it was bluntly stated. He sighed, aspirated. It was against his character to try anything to put the two together, yet it was so tempting.

"Hiyoshi-kun?" Nakasone Kotone, Sairi's doubles partner, was standing in front of him.

A flush appeared on his face as he bashfully muttered out, "Nakasone-san?"

"Class is over. I just wanted to tell you that. You seem kinda out of it. Anyway, later!" The light brown haired girl waved and ran to catch up with her doubles partner.

Hiyoshi sighed. He had his own share of issues. As if _that_ wasn't blatantly obvious itself.

---

Sairi waited by the classroom door for Kotone to come out. Why her doubles partner was taking longer than usual puzzled her, but she wasn't irritated.

But she did have important information to convey to Kotone. After the revelation she had in English, it was now of dire importance that she consult _someone_ about this.

"Sairi?" The girl jumped to see Ootori standing behind her.

"Oh, Choutarou, hey!" She smiled. _Act like everything's normal._

Ootori smiled at her, that same soft smile he seemed to only reserve for Shishido and her. Sairi felt heat rushing to her cheeks.

_Must not show…_

Sairi found herself tugging at the ponytail she had tied her hair in. Her hair was a little too short and the fact that it was layered caused various strands to fall out of it.

Ootori noticed this, "You tied up your hair today? It looks cute." Sairi blushed yet again.

"What are you talking about, Choutarou?" She retorted. Yes, her brain was operating, "It's so messy. I did horrible job."

"Well, I think it looks cute." Ootori replied in his usual voice. A voice that she now noticed, to be a pleasant tenor sound.

Sairi could feel herself flush red. "Umm…well…thank you."

Ootori smiled at her yet again, and Sairi hoped that her blush wasn't deepening. What was wrong with her? Why was it now so difficult to talk to Ootori?

"Hey, Sairi! Sorry that I took so long!" Kotone ran out of the classroom smiling. Sairi thought she was saved until Kotone noticed Ootori's presence. "Ootori-kun? Oh I'm sorry! Was I disturbing something?"

"Not really, Nakasone-san." Ootori replied, "I need to go meet up with Shishido-san anyway. So I'll see you two later then."

"Bye." The two girls watched the silver haired junior make his way through the hall.

Kotone grabbed Sairi's arm, "So, tell me what happened while I was inside the classroom."

"Nothing." Sairi flushed.

"Oh come on, you were as red as a tomato when I came out. Did he ask you out?"

"No."

"Well…"

Sairi rolled her eyes and decided to switch the topic, "Well what took you so long? Were you talking to Hiyoshi-kun again?"

This time Kotone colored, "Sairi!"

"Well, were you?"

"That's embarrassing!" Kotone was turning very red very fast. "And besides I was asking you about Ootori-kun first! You guys are friends so it's okay to ask that! I happen to like Hiyoshi-kun."

"Then your situation's not that different from mine."

Silence and then Kotone stuttered out, "W-What?"

"I like Choutarou."

"You mean like like?"

"Yeah."

More silence. Kotone looked as if she was in a state of shock. "Did you always like him?" she asked.

"I just found out in English. That's why I said 'dammit' out loud." Sairi sighed.

"Well, now we have to make sure no one knows about this. Otherwise, Ootori-kun's fangirls will not only be after you but everyone's gonna think you two are going to go out soon."

"Not like his fangirls already hate my guts." Sairi shifted her weight from her right foot to her left. "But, Kotone. Now I'm scared. It's become so awkward just to talk to him."

"Oh, just act like everything's normal." Kotone smiled, "I'm sure things'll be fine if you just act normal."

Sairi stared at her doubles partner before saying, "Like how you treat Hiyoshi-kun?"

"Sairi!" Kotone hit the black-haired girl. Sairi simply smiled. Occasionally it was amusing to poke fun at Kotone. She was very sensitive.

"Well, thanks for the advice, Kotone." Sairi stretched her arms, "Can't wait until practice afterschool. I seriously didn't think Sakaki-sensei would allow us to have practice matches with the boy's team."

Kotone faked a pout, "And we actually qualified for nationals."

The bell rang, signaling both girls to return to class.

---

School had ended and practice had begun. Ootori tested the tension on his strings before glancing at his doubles partner to make sure he was done. Shishido was still adjusting something on his racket.

He sighed. Why did they have to have practice matches against Sairi and Kotone of all people? Sakaki-sensei had come out with the match order. It went as followed:

SINGLES 1: _Atobe Keigo _vs._ Ishikawa Sakura  
_SINGLES 2: _Akagawa Jirou _vs._ Kuroda Rio  
_SINGLES 3: _Hiyoshi Wakashi _vs._ Soseki Hanako  
_DOUBLES 1: _Shishido Ryou—Ootori Choutarou pair _vs._ Li Sairi—Nakasone Kotone pair  
_DOUBLES 2: _Oshitari Yuushi—Mukahi Gakuto pair _vs._ Kira Sorano—Natsume Haruka pair_

The previous match had ended with Oshitari and Mukahi winning against Sorano and Haruka at a score of 7 games to 5. Ootori now glanced at the Doubles 1 pair preparing for their match. He turned back to Shishido, who was still busy adjusting something.

"Shishido-san?" Ootori began.

"What is it, Choutarou?" Shishido again adjusted the tension on his racket's strings, and this time seemed satisfied.

Ootori looked over in Sairi and Kotone's direction, "Should we go easy on them, Shishido-san?"

Shishido twirled his racket on one finger, "They qualified for nationals and are currently undefeated. You think we should?"

Ootori sighed. It wasn't that he doubted their strength, it was just the idea of playing a match against Sairi irked him. What if something happened and she got injured? With his Scud Serves, anything could happen. He remembered a time where he carelessly aimed his Scud Serve and hit Mukahi in the crotch. The acrobatic player regained consciousness the next day and then screamed about how he would be impotent for the rest of his life.

Shishido's hand came down upon his shoulder. "Calm down, Choutarou." The dash specialist smiled, "I'm sure they're going to go all out against us, so we should return the favor shouldn't we? It wouldn't be fair to them if we didn't give it all we got, right?"

This seemed to convince the silver-haired kouhai, as he nodded, a new found enthusiasm coursing through him.

---

"One set match. Ootori to serve."

Ootori bounced the ball off the ground before observing his surroundings. Sairi would be one receiving the serve. Throwing the ball he recited his usual "Ikuunyukon" before smashing the ball the other side.

Sairi let the ball pass her, observing its speed. _Not that bad._ She took a couple steps back before concentrating on the silver-haired regular preparing for another serve. This time she would return it.

"I…kuu..nyu…kon!" Ootori sent another Scud Serve over the net.

Sairi jumped forward before twirling her body so she faced the back of the courts. Then, using the rest of her body weight, she turned her body back towards the direction of the net, focusing all of her momentum into her racket before slamming the ball towards their opponents' side of the court.

The Silver Pair never looked so shocked before in their lives.

Kotone smiled, "And that's Sairi's Valkyrie Drive."

The Silver Pair smiled. The match would be an interesting one.

---

The practice matches ended with the girls losing in almost everything except in Doubles 1. Sairi and Kotone had miraculously won, 7 to 6.

Sairi adjusted her tie as she walked out of the changing room. At least the defeats weren't that humiliating. The worse was 6 games to 4. And that was because Ishikawa-buchou was too busy obsessing over Atobe to take the match seriously.

Kotone had left early on accounts of a sudden family issue that came up. So Sairi was left walking home alone. Normally, the black-haired girl didn't mind, but today with the sun setting it did seem a bit lonesome.

"Sairi?" The mentioned girl turned around to see Ootori once behind her again.

_Act normal._ "Oh, hey Choutarou. What's up?" She adjusted her tennis bag over her shoulder.

Ootori's big brown eyes gazed directly into hers, "Can I walk home with you today?"

"But, don't you live over there?" Sairi pointed towards the north. Her house was to the east of the school.

"I really don't mind, Sairi. Besides, you looked lonely. I want to walk you home anyway." Ootori was already heading in the direction of her house.

Sairi fell in step with him, which was hard considering his long legs. So far everything was fine. She wasn't blushing like an idiot.

"Shishido-san and I let you win the game today."

"What?" Sairi turned towards the silver-haired boy. Even for Sairi, that was a very uncharacteristic thing for Ootori to say. Unless Ootori had ulterior motives.

"That last ball that you hit was returnable…but I pretended that it was too heavy for me and dropped my racket."

"Choutarou, you didn't have too…"

"Which means you owe me one." Ootori turned towards her. A mischievous light played in his eyes. Oh yes. Whoever said that Ootori was a sweet, nice boy CLEARLY did not know him well enough.

Sairi knew that Ootori had the capability of concocting a plan that would even put Oshitari, the sadistic one of the regulars, to shame. Which was why she was now afraid for her life and sanity.

The mischievous light was replaced by a smile. "Would you like to go shopping with me this Saturday, Sairi? I do need to shop for clothes."

That was unexpected. It was an innocuous question. Sairi was about to say "yes" when she noticed the smile on Ootori's face. It was THAT sweet smile. The sweet smile that read, "If you say no, I'll not only force you to come with me, I'll make the trip a living hell for you as well." It was _terrifying_.

So in the end, all Sairi could do was say yes. Not that she didn't want to anyway.

---

When Sairi finally reached home the sun was already low on the horizon. She turned towards her silver-haired companion, "Are you sure you don't want a ride home?"

Ootori simply smiled, "I'm fine, Sairi. I'm sure I'll be okay."

Sairi nodded and took out her keys. Just before she inserted them into the keyhole, Ootori called out, "Sairi?"

"Yeah, Choutarou?" She turned around.

Ootori was leaning over her. He placed one hand on the door behind her and slowly closed the distance between them. The sunset played on his silver hair and pale skin, almost making him glow. The silver cross around his neck seemed to emit a golden light as well.

_Like a seraphim_. Sairi thought.

He closed his eyes and gently brushed his lips upon her forehead. Sairi closed hers as well and felt his tongue lick the same spot his lips had just touched.

Then he pushed the doorbell. As the sound of it rang through the house, he withdrew. With the light of the sunset playing on his chocolate eyes he smiled at her.

"See you tomorrow at school, Sairi."

By the time her parents opened up the door, Ootori had already left. But only one thought was left in her mind.

_What the heck was that?_

---

A/N:

Oh, this went on to seven pages. It's definitely longer than my last chapter.

And so I experienced writer's block when I finished the Hiyoshi narrative at the top. I attempted to remedy this with a tennis match, but that didn't help so I retreated in Harry Potter fanfiction. Curiously enough, this cured my writer's block as well as made this author's note look somewhere in between sophisticated and informal. BLEH.

And so the third chapter shall be written…stupid writer's block.

**Side note**: I will be away at a summer program of Yale for three weeks, so I'll try to post as much as possible (I will attempt to post at least one chapter a day). But that means major writing and proofreading on my part. Oh joy.

W-B Chaos


	3. Cloudy Skies

**Disclaimer:** ::throws up pools of money:: YES! I OWN IT ALL! TAKE THAT COPYRIGHT ENFORCERS ON I seriously hope people noticed the sarcasm in the above statement.  
**Warning:** slight OOCness and non-yaoi  
**A/N: **I'm out of my writer's block. YAY!

So, this chapter was written so it can tie into the overall plot that shall happen. I was originally going to delete this part of the story, but then realized that the rest of my story really wouldn't have worked without it. So, here it is.

**Note**: I do not like this chapter very much.

---

Ch. 2 Cloudy skies

---

Sairi had never been more berated in her life. Her fellow flute players surrounded her, asking her questions.

Sairi had joined the band because she loved to play the flute, but did not expect the rest of the flutes to be this ditzy. In addition to this, they loved drama—drama dealing with the Hyotei tennis regulars to be exact. Sairi was their medium for all the drama that went on between the boy regulars. Despite their obsessive love for gossip, Sairi had grown fond of them. It helped that Kotone was a flute too and helped to carry the weight of "gossip news reporter" to the flutes.

But today the flutes weren't interested in any new news that she brought them. They had discovered that Ootori Choutarou had walked Li Sairi home.

And they were eager to know what happened. Did Ootori confess his love for Sairi? Did they kiss? If they did, how was it? Did this mean that the two of them were officially a couple?

Sairi assured them that none of this had happened, but there was no way in hell Sairi would report to the flutes what actually occurred.

Kotone walked in just in the nick of time. Sairi was about to thank God for her savior.

And then she noticed a sad look on Kotone's face. Had something come up?

---

"Kotone, what's wrong?"

Kotone remained quiet and continued to eat her lunch.

"Kotone." Sairi continued. Her sky blue eyes gave Kotone such a piercing look, that the ash-brown haired girl swore Sairi resembled Shishido.

Kotone sighed as she finished off the last remains of her lunch, "Do you really want to know, Sairi?"

"Kotone, you're my best friend and my doubles partner. If you don't tell me what's wrong, I'll have to force it out of you." Now Sairi even sounded like Shishido.

"It's just…Sairi…I'm…my family…we're moving away."

Sairi felt the base of her world suddenly disappear. "Y-You're what?" she stuttered.

"Moving away."

It was not unheard of for a student at Hyotei to suddenly move. The families of Hyotei students were rich, including Kotone's and hers. Often times their jobs forced them to move locations. But to Sairi, the fact that her best friend was moving away, the very friend she had made when she first arrived at Hyotei, the same friend that helped her adjust to a new life in Japan away from America, the friend that she played doubles with in tennis, was moving away was crushing.

Sairi stared at her lunch, "W-When are you moving?"

"The week after Nationals."

Nationals was less than a month away. In less than a month, she would probably never see Kotone again.

"Where are you moving to?"

"America. The same city which you came from. There's a high probability I'll end up attending the same school too."

Sairi looked into Kotone's green eyes, "Kotone. I'm still in touch with many my friends in America. Before you go, I'll email them and make sure they help you adjust to American life to the best of their abilities."

Kotone smiled, "Thanks, Sairi."

Sairi winked at her, "And don't forget to keep in touch."

---

Practice ended. Kotone had to rush home again. As Sairi stared at the setting sun, she realized that she would probably never walk home with Kotone again. The thought…the thought was just crushing. Holding back tears, she stared at the setting sun. Why did sunsets have to be so depressing?

"Sairi?"

Sairi turned to see Ootori there. A worried look plastered his face.

"Are you okay, Sairi?"

She nodded and faked a smile. Ootori stepped closer to her. "Sairi." He said again, and wiped something off her cheek. It was a tear.

"Sairi, what happened?" Ootori stared at the surprised girl. How easily he could see through her façade.

And then she broke down. She sobbed for the loss of a fellow flute, for the loss of her doubles partner, but most importantly for the loss of one of the best friends she ever had. She confessed this to Ootori, who listened with patience.

The whole time Ootori had his arms around her, and her face was buried in his chest.

---

This would have been the second time that Ootori had walked her home. As Sairi rummaged through her bag for her keys, Ootori wondered about the sorrow Sairi was currently feeling.

If Shishido-san suddenly moved away, how would he feel?

Crushed, devastated beyond belief. And was it okay for him to ask her to go shopping with him when her best friend was moving away? No, of course it wasn't.

Sairi unlocked the door before turning back to Ootori, "Thanks, Choutarou."

Ootori smiled at her. "No problem."

"So what time do you want to meet tomorrow?"

Ootori gave her a confused look, "What?"

Sairi laughed, "I need to help you shop tomorrow, remember?"

Ootori blushed, "You don't have to go if you don't want to. I mean with Nakasone-san leaving and all—"

"I want to go!" Sairi was now standing in front of him like a pouting child.

Ootori laughed. "Okay. I'll come pick you up at 2 p.m., okay?"

"Okay." Sairi smiled at him once more. This time Ootori blushed.

He did the most sensible thing he could think of. He patted her head affectionately. Sairi faked anger before grabbing his tie and placing a small kiss on his cheek.

"See you tomorrow then, Choutarou." She waved at him.

As Ootori walked off, one thought remained in his mind.

_What was that?_

---

A/N: Bleh. This seems like a chapter of sentimental fluff. But, the plot wouldn't make sense without it! ARGH!

So, basically a filler chapter.

The plot will start to come out in the next chapter. Then things might get more interesting.

W-B Chaos


	4. Soft Rain

**Disclaimer:** I do not own PoT. Often times I wish I did, but I do not.  
**Warning:** Slight OOCness, non yaoi  
**A/N:** I would first like to thank all the reviewers! I realized I forgot to do that earlier. Especially, **Accidental Enlightenment** for her insights,** xMitsuko** and **summer-loven** for their support, and anyone else who I didn't mention!

So I think I got out of my writer's block since I have finished a basic outline of how I want the story to go. Of course, this is a VERY VERY rough outline, but at least I got my ideas down before they flew out of my brain, never to be seen again.

Ootori's outfit is based on what Date Koji wore as Ootori's informal clothes during the Dream Live 3 performance. As for Sairi's…some inspiration from yahoo avatars. What I do to get inspiration…::sighs::

I have graduation music stuck in my head. Pomp and Circumstance is the worst song ever! Especially when you have to play it over and over again for about 15 billion times because there's a million seniors graduating this year. I had to go through this and it was VERY VERY painful. But I did get to torture my section leader later on. Ah…fun times.

Anyway, here's the story:

---

Ch. 3 Soft Rain

---

Sairi checked her appearance in the mirror. She was wearing a short sleeve white blazer with a black tank top inside. Below that was a pair of denim jeans with a silver chain attached to the right side. Around her right wrist was a dark navy Fila wristband and around her neck was her usual heart-shaped key pendant with a sky blue gemstone set in the middle of it.

Ootori had given that necklace to her for her birthday last year. She had worn it ever since.

_Perfect_. She thought.

"Nee-chan! Kaa-san said you were going somewhere today." Daisuke stuck his head into her room.

Sairi observed her little brother or a little while, trying to determine the motive behind his statement. Daisuke could sometimes be a little angel and a little devil, at the same time. Judging by his tousled spiked brown hair and tired teal blue eyes, Daisuke had just gotten out of bed, and therefore could not have any demonic motives.

"Yes, Dai. I'm going somewhere." She replied.

Daisuke rubbed his eyes, "Can I come to?"

Sairi smirked, "You want to go shopping with me?"

This woke the younger boy up, "WHAT?! SHOPPING?! No way! Eww! That's gross! Who are you going shopping with?"

"Choutarou."

"Tori-nii-chan?" Daisuke often surprised her with strange nicknames.

"Yes, _Dai-chan_."

Daisuke rubbed his nose, indicating irritation, "Don't call me that! Is it a date?" Daisuke was more schizophrenic than usual.

"I don't know."

"How can you not know?" Daisuke threw himself onto her bed.

"Because I don't, Dai."

"Or you don't want to tell me. Nee-chan! Tell me!" Daisuke flopped up and down on the bed, and according to Sairi's perspective, looked like a fish washed up on the beach.

The doorbell rang. From the front of the house, Sairi heard her mom call, "It's for you, Sairi."

"Have to go, Dai—"

Daisuke wasn't about to let her go that easily, "Is it a date? Tell me tell me tell me!"

"Go brush your hair." She pushed him into the bathroom that she shared with him.

"Neeeeeeeeeeee-chan!" He called after her. Sairi quickly shut the door to the bathroom before making her way to the door.

Rummaging through the closet, she found a pair of grayish-brown Puma shoes with pink strips and quickly slipped them on.

Ootori was waiting at the doorway…wearing an almost identical outfit.

Sairi gawked at the fact that he too was wearing a white blazer (only it was a long-sleeved one, but he rolled up the sleeves) over a black shirt and denim jeans with a silver chain attached to them. His shoes were even brown.

If her mom saw this…

"Oh my god, you two look so cute together!" Sairi turned to see her mom admiring their almost identical outfits. "You're even wearing the same things!"

"Kaa-san!" She blushed.

Ootori's cheeks were tinted slightly red, "Umm…ari—"

Sairi covered his mouth, "There's no need to be polite. Well we'll be going, kaa-san! See you!" She closed the door on her mom.

---

"You're not very nice to your mom." Ootori commented once they had arrived at the designated shopping center.

Sairi simply smiled, "Of course I'm not." This prompted a "you should be nice to your elders" look from Ootori. Sairi simply smiled back, causing the silver-haired junior to blush.

"So are we going to stop shopping, or what?" Sairi asked, glancing at the numerous windows displaying various fashions.

It was Ootori's turn to smile this time. That comment was so like Sairi. She was always down to business.

"Come on, Choutarou!" Sairi grabbed his arm, tugging him into the nearest store. Ootori discovered he didn't really mind Sairi hugging his arm. If anything, he enjoyed it.

---

Several hours later, the two juniors decided to rest after towing around several bags. Sairi plopped herself very unceremoniously onto a nearby bench while Ootori laughed and sat down rather gracefully.

"You're a vicious shopper." Ootori commented.

Sairi simply laughed. The truth was the fact that their outfits were unintentionally coordinated prompted stares from many people. Sairi simply wanted to get away from them. They certainly were an odd couple. Sairi with her black hair and sky blue eyes and Ootori with his silver hair and chocolate brown eyes seemed to indicate they were polar opposites. However, their coordinated outfits conveyed similarities. In truth, they were a couple of blends and contrasts.

"Sairi?" Ootori was now standing, "Would you like some ice cream? There's a really good shop nearby."

"Sure." Sairi was about to get up before Ootori stopped her.

"I'll get it. It'll be my treat. You just wait here." A smile from Ootori assured her that no matter what she said, he wouldn't listen.

"Fine, Choutarou." She settled back into her seat watching the silver-haired junior walk away.

---

"Marui-senpai! Why did you have to drag me along with you?" Kirihara Akaya whined, following the pink-haired regular.

Marui simply blew a bubble, "Because I have shopping duty, and you're a kouhai. You should respect your senpai's wishes."

Kirihara just grumbled. He didn't want to be here, shopping for the tennis team. He wanted to be home, playing fighting games.

He scanned his eyes across the shopping center. It was the usual same boring scenery. Couples and parents with their children and were browsing around the shops. Several thoughts crossed his mind. They varied from disrupting couples during intimate moments to kidnapping the children just to watch their parents' reactions.

And then his eyes settled on a black-haired girl about his age on a nearby bench with various bags around her. Her sky blue eyes seemed to hold a playful impatience.

_Cute…_

"Hey, Akaya! Why'd you stop?" Marui gave the kouhai an impatient look before glancing at the object that had captivated Kirihara's attention. A mischievous smile graced his face, "Oh, so that's who you're looking at, Akaya."

Kirihara glared at his senpai, "It's none of your business."

"Do you even know who she is?" Marui already felt he had an edge over the kouhai.

Kirihara looked unusually eager, "You know her?"

"Personally, of course not." Marui watched as the hope in Kirihara's eyes disappeared, before adding, "But I've heard of her. She's a Hyotei regular on the girls' team. Her name's Li Sairi. From what I've heard, she's one of the best acrobatic players out there. Oh, she plays Doubles 1."

"Where did you find this all out?" Kirihara asked suspiciously.

"Tennis Pro Monthly. Honestly, Akaya, you should read that every so often."

Another boy approached Sairi. Kirihara's eyes narrowed as he identified the boy as Ootori Choutarou. Ootori handed Sairi an ice cream cone before sitting down next to her. The two seemed to be enjoying each other's company.

Marui sighed, "I guess that's too bad, Akaya. Seems like she's taken by Ootori-kun. Oh well." He grabbed the kouhai and dragged him off.

However, Kirihara's mind still swarming with thoughts about Li Sairi.

_I don't care if she's going out with Ootori-kun or not. I want her to be mine._

---

"Thanks, Choutarou." Sairi smiled before accepting the cone he gave her.

Ootori sat down next to her as Sairi licked it. "It's so yummy…" Sairi turned towards Ootori, "You remembered I liked Irish Cream?"

"Of course." Ootori replied.

"It's not fair." Sairi then blurted out.

Ootori turned towards the girl, a surprised look on his face, "What isn't?"

"You treating me to this and all that. I had so much fun. I need to take you somewhere too." The girl's sky blue eyes were filled with enthusiasm, "How about we go to Tokyo Disneyland next weekend?"

Ootori smiled at her, "That's fine with me, Sairi."

The girl laughed before Ootori grabbed her wrist. The laugh turned into a gasp as Ootori took a lick of her ice cream. "W-What was that for?" Sairi stuttered.

"It was melting." Ootori grinned, revealing his mischievous side.

"Choutarou! You—"

"You want some of mine?" Ootori placed his cone in front of her face.

Sairi blushed, "W-What?"

"Well, it's the least I owe you, for taking a bite out of your ice cream and for inviting me to Tokyo Disneyland, right?"

"Ch-Choutarou…"

"Come on." He pushed it even closer. Sairi took a reluctant lick, which prompted a smile from Ootori. Sairi could feel herself turning into a tomato very quickly.

---

By the time Sairi had returned home, the sun was barely visible over the horizon. Ootori stood with her by her door as she once again rummaged for her keys.

This was the third time already.

"Thank you, Sairi."

Sairi turned around, "For what?"

"For coming out with me. Even though Nakasone-san is moving away."

Sairi smiled, "It was really no problem. Don't feel guilty about it. Furthermore, Kotone would have wanted me to go out with you."

It was Ootori's turn to smile. Slowly, he leaned down towards the girl. Sairi's eyes closed as he brought his face closer. Leaning against the door she could feel Ootori's lips drawing closer.

"Mou, is Sairi home yet?!" An impatient Daisuke opened the door, moving the one object that was keeping Sairi up.

Sairi fell, as a surprised Ootori caught her. Daisuke, on the other hand, was standing there with a bewildered look on her face.

"Eto…gomen nasai." Daisuke quickly ran into the house, his face bright red.

Sairi glared in the direction her brother ran, yelling, "You better be sorry!" while Ootori laughed. He then turned back to the girl.

"Well, I'll see you at school then, Sairi."

Sairi nodded before waving to Ootori and closing the door.

Now for killing that little pest of a brother of hers.

---

A/N:

Ahh…this chapter went all right.

THIS IS THE FARTHEST I'VE EVER GONE IN A FANFIC BEFORE. Usually I quit by the 2nd chapter, but I actually have enough inspiration to get through this.

I need to play flute anyways. So, I guess I'll get to work on the 5th chapter ASAP. For now, I'll leave with one of my brain farts in the middle of chapter:  
Half way through the chapter I couldn't find the quotation marks on the keyboard.

**Side note:** I'm leaving for my summer program on June 27th, so after that date posting shall be...let's say haphazard. I'm coming back on July 21st, and I'm hoping to have all the fanfic up by then. If not, I shall resume daily posting again on July 22st. Note that this fanfic will not exceed 20 chapters (because I really can't write that much).

W-B Chaos


	5. The beginning of the storm

**Disclaimer:** I do not own PoT. I wish I did. But if you believe that a 16 year old girl can own the anime, then go ahead.  
**Warning:** Slight OOCness and no yaoi  
**A/N:** And thus we begin the 5th chapter! Ahh...this fanfic almost seems like a korean drama...I hope it doesn't become sappy and stupid.

Forward note: I do not in any way, shape, or form hate Kirihara Akaya. I just needed a cruel second-year boy to fill this part (and I really didn't want to make another OC), and unfortunately his personality fit it perfectly. Yes, I acknowledge the fact that he has changed since the Kantou tournament, but in this fanfic he hasn't.

P.S. I really don't mind constructive flames. So, don't feel guilty if you give me constructive criticism! I'm always trying to find ways to improve my writing!

---

Ch. 4 The beginning of the storm

---

Kirihara Akaya often saw himself as the center of the world.

Correction. Kirihara Akaya saw himself as the center of the world.

Which was why when he first saw Li Sairi with Ootori Choutarou, he started to think of other reasons as to why she would be there with the silver-haired regular. One speculation was that she had known he would be there. Why had Marui-senpai chosen _him_ to go shopping with him when he could have chosen Niou-senpai, his best friend? Sairi must have instructed Marui-senpai to do so. And then she had Ootori Choutarou there to show him how popular she was. Yes, that must have been the reason.

Kirihara scanned the pages of Tennis Pro Monthly and stopped at the page featuring the Hyotei girls' tennis team. He skipped to a picture of Sairi, gracefully flipping through the air while smashing the ball to the other side.

"Li Sairi. 2nd year. Play Style: Serve and Volley. Speciality: Acrobatic tennis, Valkyrie Drive. Li Sairi is an important part of Hyotei's Doubles 1 pair that has so far been undefeated. In addition to being talented in doubles, Li has also shown considerable talent as a singles player. She is expected to be a formidable candidate for the team's captain next year."

Kirihara licked his lips. _Perfect…_

---

The sound of the telephone rang throughout the Li residence.

Sairi groaned and checked the clock besides her bed. Who would call at 9 a.m.? But then again, any normal person would have been awake by now. She pulled the covers over her head. It was Sunday. She didn't want to get out of bed.

She heard her mom pick up the phone, "Hello, Li residence." A pause. "Okay, I'll get her." The next thing she heard was, "Sairi! It's for you! And it's a boy!"

Sairi groaned. "Is it Choutarou?" she asked.

"No."

"Hiyoshi-kun?"

"No."

"Shishido-san?"

"No."

"Any one that I know?"

"No."

"Give it to Dai."

Dai groaned and said, "Leave my sister alone." into the phone before hanging up.

And thus Kirihara first attempt to contact Sairi failed.

---

The phone rang once again. Daisuke picked up the phone.

"Moshi moshi. Li residence."

"May I speak to Sairi-chan, please?" Kirihara attempted a second time to contact her.

"Who is this?"

"Kirihara Akaya."

Daisuke thought for a second, "Nee-chan doesn't know any Kirihara-sans…"

"Just give her the phone."

Daisuke grinned, "No, first I have to know if you're a fanboy."

"A what?"

"Well, nee-chan is a regular. She has a lot of fanboys."

"Just give her the phone!"

Another voice was talking to Daisuke, "Dai, who is it?"

"Some guy known as Kirihara Akaya."

"The junior ace of Rikkaidai?"

"I'll ask him." Daisuke turned back to the phone, "Are you the junior ace of Rikkaidai?"

Kirihara was getting impatient, "Yes."

Daisuke turned back to the owner of the voice, "He says yes."

"Ask him how his buchou's doing."

Daisuke returned to the phone, "How's your buchou doing?"

"How should I know?! He's recovering from an operation in the hospital!"

Daisuke's voice grew fainter, "He says the buchou's in the hospital."

"Oh," the voice continued, "I guess that really is Kirihara Akaya. Give me the phone."

The sound of Daisuke handing the phone over, and then the voice said into it, "This is Li Sairi. I'm sorry about that. Dai screens all my calls from fanboys. So you're Kirihara-san from Rikkaidai? Why are you calling me?"

Kirihara smiled, "I happen to be reading an article on you in Tennis Pro Monthly."

"Okay…" To Sairi, Kirihara was beginning to sound creepy.

"You sound interesting. Would you like to go on a date with me?"

"W-What?!" Sairi choked on something.

"Go out on a date with me."

Sairi confirmed her suspicions. Kirihara Akaya was a weird guy. "I'm sorry. I'm interested in someone else. I'm really sorry."

"Oh come on. Just for fun…I mean I am a Rikkaidai regular."

Sairi was beginning to wonder whether she should classify Kirihara Akaya as a creepy fanboy. "I'm sorry. I really can't go on a date with you. I have to go. Bye."

The line went dead. Kirihara frowned to himself. He would not be turned down so easily. But, how to get Sairi to go out with him? Scanning his brain for ideas, one came to mind. He grinned. Oh yes, it would be easy to get Sairi to be his.

---

"So basically, that is what you want?"

"Precisely."

"You're asking a lot. His family and my family have connections going way back, but that is quite extreme."

"You love me don't you?"

"Yes…but that's beside the point."

"I promise to be your boyfriend if you do this one favor for me. It'll only take a while."

"But you're doing it so—"

"Only for fun. Once I'm through, I'll come to you, okay?"

"Okay."

"Break his heart for me okay? That's the least he deserves."

"All right."

The line was dropped.

---

A/N: Another short chapter again. Sorry for any typos or weird grammatical quirks!

Yay! And we have an underlying plot! I finally managed to chuck one out of myself, after countless hours of inspiration searching and drivers education online courses.

Anyway, I will post Ch. 6 as soon as possible. But after today, I'll be in Connecticut, so like I said in the previous chapter, postings will become haphazard.

W-B Chaos


	6. Detecting the Storm

**Disclaimer:** Do not own PoT. I'm running out of creative juices on how to express this. So, standard disclaimer applied.  
**Warning:** Slight OOCness and non yaoi  
**A/N:** So, I have finished to 5th chapter and finally come up with a plot to make the story more complex. YAY! I'm so happy! Hopefully this will not turn into a stereotypical romance drama. Knowing my luck, it will.

Anyway, I'm here in Connecticut typing this on my mom's laptop. I actually found time to update! YAY!

Thank you once again to everyone who reviewers and gave me suggestions on how to improve my chapter. I'll try my best in incorporate your advice into this chapter!

---

Ch. 5 Detecting the storm

---

The Ootori household was awfully busy for a single day. There was news that the Murakami family was arriving and discussing a certain arrangement.

Ootori Choutarou could barely care. He was happy enough, bathing in the memories of his shopping trip. And then there would be Tokyo Disneyland. He looked at the date Sairi arranged. He would definitely tell her that day.

The sound of his mother calling for him signaled that the Murakami family had arrived. Making his way downstairs, he went over the proper procedures of greeting prestigious families. As the heir to the Ootori business, he knew far too well that establishing good relations with other families began with the proper greetings.

Arriving in the parlor, his eyes landed on his parents who were talking to another couple. His father turned to him and signaled for him to sit down.

"Choutarou, this is the head of the Murakami family." His father began. Ootori greeted him in his usual polite manner. Then his father signaled over to a young girl about his age sitting a little away from the group. She had long blond hair that fell to her waist and the most piercing dark brown eyes.

"That is Murakami Miho-chan. She will start attending Hyotei tomorrow. You will be expected to tour her around." His father explained.

Ootori turned to his father, "What does she have to do with me?"

"She is your new fiancée."

---

Sairi's cell rang in the middle of her flute lessons. The girl checked the caller ID before answering politely.

Her flute teacher noticed a sudden change in the girl's attitude. When Sairi hung up the phone, her sky blue eyes were a little duller.

"I'm sorry, sensei. Can we stop our lesson for today? I don't think I can play anymore."

Her flute teacher nodded and watched the black-haired girl leave in a rush, wondering what could have dampened the girl's spirit so quickly.

---

It was raining by the time Kotone reached the Li household. After having Sairi fail to answer so many of her calls, she suspected something must have been up. There were also rumors of the Murakami family arranging something with the Ootori family. If the rumors were true, there would be a reason for Sairi to not answer her calls.

Daisuke answered the door, "Thank goodness you're here, Kotone-san. Nee-chan won't leave her room and she hasn't talked to anyone since she's come home."

A worried look plastered Kotone's face as she ran to Sairi's room and knocked on the door.

---

Sairi heard the knock but chose to ignore it. Lying on her bed, she let the conversation echo through her mind.

_"Sairi, I'm sorry. I'm engaged to someone."_

_"What?"_

_"My parents said they don't want us to associate with each other anymore. I-I'm really sorry."_

Everything they had just shared was shattered in a second. Of course it would make perfect sense. When she asked who to, he explained it was Murakami Miho. The Murakami family was known for heading a prestigious piano company. The Ootori family, which also headed a renowned instrument company, would have wanted to solidify connections between them. Therefore, they would engage their heir to the oldest daughter of the Murakami family.

As opposed to the Li family. The Li family ran a sport clothing company that was also of matriarchal lineage. That meant Sairi would inherit the company. Merging an instrumental company with a sport clothing company would cause complications, especially since both of them were heirs to their parents' respective businesses.

She shook her head trying to erase these thoughts. No. She wouldn't give herself any excuses. Maybe he really didn't feel the same way about her. Maybe he was just using his parents and an engagement as an excuse, even if the engagement were real. After the shopping trip, maybe he realized that she really wasn't what he thought she was. Fitzgerald had written that "no amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart." Maybe she really didn't live up to his expectations. Ootori had always been a gentleman, and rather than hurt her by telling her straight out, he thought it would be better to use an excuse because it would hurt less. Just maybe...

"Sairi?"

Sairi lifted her head to see Kotone walk in, a paper clip in her right hand. That would explain how she got through the locked door. Sairi turned away from Kotone, hiding her face. Right now she did not need comfort. If she got any…

Kotone approached her before laying a hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay, Sairi?"

Sairi buried her face in her pillow to muffle her sobs.

---

Ootori sighed. No matter what he asked of his parents, they would not withdraw the engagement. He had no choice but to call Sairi up and break off whatever thing was going to happen between them. It hurt him greatly. He wanted nothing else but to be with her. But after this, his parents wanted him to have nothing to do with her. She would be hurt. Would their friendship ever be the same after this? Why did he always have to heed his parents' wishes?

Which is why he sealed himself off in his room shortly after. He didn't want to deal with it. He didn't even want to talk with this Murakami Miho, whoever the heck she was.

The door slowly creaked open. Ootori sat up to see Murakami Miho walk into his room.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you." She added. Her voice was high, very high. He liked Sairi's voice better. It was not too high, not too low, and almost a perfect pitch to his ears.

Ootori simply responded politely, "No, you aren't, Murakami-san. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Please, don't call me Murakami-san. I prefer Miho-chan."

Ootori didn't want to address her that way. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he repeated.

"I heard about a past relationship of yours."

Ootori could feel his features darken.

"Her name is Li Sairi-san, right?"

"Yes, Murakami-san."

"Please, don't call me—"

"What about Sairi, Murakami-san?"

Miho sighed. It was obvious Ootori would not address her by how she wished him to. She would just have to work on it. "You'll have to forget about her."

"What?" Ootori turned towards the girl. He noticed a sudden attitude change about her. The polite, sweet girl was replaced with someone who seemed more demanding, more vicious.

"Forget about Li-san. She's no longer part of your life."

"You can't demand me to that, Murakami-san. Sairi still is—" he stuttered over the next words, "I mean was a close—"

Miho grabbed Ootori and shoved him onto the bed before leaning over him. "W-What are you doing, Murakami-san?" The silver-haired boy stuttered.

"Forget about her okay?" She gently stroked his chin.

Ootori was steadily getting annoyed by her antics. He brushed her hand away before pushing her off him. Then he left the room.

Miho watched him leave. _Plan 1, seduction. Failed._

---

"Well…"

"Well what?"

"Did it work?"

"Of course not, he's too resistant. He's too smitten with that other girl to really care."

"Do you need me to intervene?"

"Well hurry up and finish whatever you want. There's only so much acting I can do."

"As you wish."

"Okay, don't forget what you promised me, okay?"

"Okay. I'll see you then, Miho-chan."

Miho heard the other side hang up.

---

A/N: YAY FOR AMBIGUOUS CONVERSATIONS!

Actually, in each convo I plan on dropping hints here and there. This one dropped a big hint. A pretty big hint.

Anyway, I don't want to drag out this story, so I'll try to jam pack it with action as much as possible. I really don't want this fanfic going over 20 chapters. That's way too many chapters for my liking.

Anyway, read, review, and have fun. Thanks to all the reviewers again! I will update as soon as I can!

W-B Chaos.


	7. The middle of the storm

**Disclaimer:** Do not own PoT.  
**Warning:** Slight OOCness and non-yaoi  
**A/N:** So, after racking my brain, I've finally decided what to put in this chapter. Note that all events must come to a conclusion by the time Kotone leaves, because Kotone will play an important part in the story, so she needs to be there. This means this will not be a 40 chapter long fanfic and all events take place in the course of a month, which means it will be very fast pace. Also, I'm not sure if I can update at all while at Yale. The program's schedule is very busy, and I barely found time to update today.

---

Ch. 6 The middle of the storm

---

Ootori was highly annoyed that Miho tagged along with him everywhere he went at school. Added on to that, she clung to his arm, something he highly detested. School actually had not even begun, and he was already annoyed.

His first class was English and Sairi was in it. He knew Sairi and Kotone would be in there. Both always arrived 15 minutes early to anything. Marching Band kids were always 15 minutes early to anything partially because the marching instructors had jammed into their heads that if you were on time, you were late, and if you were 15 minutes early, then you were on time.

When he walked into the classroom, with Miho clinging to his arm, he noticed Sairi refused to look at him.

---

"Class, I would like to introduce a new student to the class." The teacher signaled for Miho to introduce herself.

Miho simply smiled, "Murakami Miho desu! But you can just call me Miho-chan! I recently moved here from France. It'll be a pleasure to meet you all." She bowed.

Kotone noted with some disdain that Miho was astoundingly beautiful. It would be hard for any boy not to resist her charm and perky personality. But, judging by the look on Ootori's face, he seemed almost annoyed by her. Sairi, on the other hand, was reading a copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ and not paying attention.

"Would you like a tour of the campus, Murakami-chan?" The teacher asked.

Miho nodded and her eyes turned eagerly towards Ootori.

_Too much energy._ Kotone thought. _Where does she get all of it?_

"Okay. Li Sairi can tour you around. Li-san, please stand up. Would you mind touring around Murakami-san?"

A sudden wave of worry passed through Kotone. She turned towards her friend, who was simply standing up from her seat. "I wouldn't mind, sensei." Sairi responded.

Miho frowned, "But I want Choutarou to tour me around!" Ootori colored at this.

The sensei simply smiled, "I think Li-san is a better choice. She has an amazing sense of direction and will be able to point out some spots that would only be of value to females. Please, go with her."

As the two girls left the classroom, Kotone reminded herself that Sairi knew martial arts and if anything happened, could defend herself. She turned towards Ootori, the same worried look plastered on his face.

---

"Over there is the school's garden." Sairi pointed out, "A lot of couples go there to hang out."

"Couples?" Miho commented, watching Sairi's reaction, "You think I could go there with, Choutarou?"

Sairi's features seemed to dampen a little before she recuperated and smiled at the blond-haired girl, "If you want to."

"Li-san?" Miho wanted a reaction out of Sairi, "I know you used to like, Choutarou. Well I am his fiancée now. I mean that does mean he has to love me and only me."

Miho expected a slap, or glare, or something abrasive to that matter from this comment. At the least, she expected a "mind your own business."

"It's fine with me Murakami-san." Sairi responded instead. She turned towards the blond-haired girl, "If it was not meant to be, it was not meant to be. I just want Choutarou to be happy. And if he'll be happy with you, that's fine with me."

Miho was taken aback. She had not expected such behavior. She had not expected Li Sairi to be this nice.

Miho simply nodded in response. Sairi smiled at her before continuing with her tour, "I assume you want to know where the bathrooms are, Murakami-san."

---

Kotone was busy inspecting the book Sairi was reading. There was so much English in there, so many words. How could she read this? But then again, Sairi was from America.

"Nakasone-san?" Ootori was standing in front of her desk.

Kotone put down the book, "What is it, Ootori-kun?"

"I was wondering…is Sairi okay?"

Kotone stared at Ootori, surprised. Then it all made sense. Of course Ootori would care about Sairi's well being. Despite the fact he was currently engaged to someone, he still cared for the girl because they were still friends.

"Sairi's a little bit down, but I think she'll get over it." Kotone smiled, "She isn't the type to get bogged down by things for a long time."

"Oh." For some reason Ootori didn't look exactly happy. But he still managed a smile before thanking Kotone for her help.

Kotone sat there wondering what could possibly keep Ootori from being happy.

---

After tennis practice had ended, Sairi started on her way home. Kotone had to leave early once again. Ootori had been dragged off by Miho. As the black-haired girl passed by a park, she decided to stop for a while. Sitting down on one of the swings, she watched the kids around her play.

The situation she was in was depressing. Kotone was moving away in less than a month. Her next best friend, the one whom she loved, was engaged and what else would she have left after Kotone moved? Maybe she would transfer school. Seigaku was also renowned for its tennis program and high achieving scores. Maybe. She would ask her parents.

Sairi remembered back in America when she used to play on the swings with her friends. Back then she could barely reach the ground when she sat on one. Now her feet were dragging on it. She had certainly grown. She remembered how her friends would have contests on who could jump off the swing the farthest. She would usually jump off and display some acrobatic move before landing on her feet. Back when she was happy.

A time before she moved to Japan and met Ootori Choutarou.

Maybe she could move back to America. That was another option. Her father was in America on family business. It would be easy for her to move back there.

As she felt her eyes water, she quickly pushed the tears back.

"Poor Sairi-chan."

Sairi looked up to see a curly haired boy about her age leaning against a nearby tree. She recognized him immediately from the tennis magazines. Kirihara Akaya.

He smiled at her, "I heard the news. I'm terribly sorry. I understand you liked Ootori-kun very much."

Sairi's depression immediately turned to annoyance. What was he trying to do?

"Of course, things like this happen within wealthy families don't they?" Kirihara added, approaching her. "I really am sorry."

Sairi this time noticed the setting sun reflecting off of Kirihara. He glowed in a sinister red light, his eyes glancing greedily at her with an almost maniacal light.

_Like a demon_.

Suddenly he was in front of her, his finger tickling her chin. "I can offer you much more than Ootori-kun can, Sairi-chan. I love you. Don't you want to be with me?"

Sairi glared him before swiping away his hand and standing up. "Forget it." She retorted, walking away.

Kirihara grabbed her arm and spun her around, "Forget Ootori-kun. He's lost."

She twisted out of his grip, "Even if I did, you would be the last person I would go out with." She turned before adding, "You don't love me. You want me." With that, she walked off.

Kirihara felt himself fuming. Nobody ever turned down Kirihara Akaya, especially in that way. He shook the angry thoughts out of his mind. Maybe all he had to do was wait. Yes, wait. After Sairi's doubles partner moved away the girl would be absolutely crushed. Then she would be weak and vulnerable. It was then that he could make his move.

A few feet away, Kotone saw the whole thing.

---

"Yes?"

"How are things going on your side?"

"He's not warming up to me at all. He seems almost to hate me. What about her?"

"Well, I plan to wait until the end of the month."

"What happened today?"

"What do you think? I need you to stay with him a little longer, at least until the end of the month. When her friend moves away, I think that'll be it."

"Okay."

"Understand, Miho-chan?"

"Understood. Is Li-chan really that hard to get?"

The other line was dropped. Miho hung up, figuring that he would probably not want to talk about it. Whatever Sairi had done to him, he would not speak of it. But Sairi was so nice, was it really okay for her to do this to the girl? Just for one thing? One selfish thing? She shook the thought out of her head. She had to be cold and calculating. There was no empathy for the other side.

---

A/N:

Another huge hint. Anyway, I have this whole thing planned out, and I plan to finish this fanfic by the 12th chapter! YAY!

I discovered I now have a habit of writing short chapters. By the way, this chapter was not editted that thoroughly because I'm currently in a rush.

So, I probably can't update until July 22nd. Sorry about that. But I promise to update then! Thank you once again to all the reviewers! I'm very sorry about this!

W-B Chaos


	8. The Eye of the Storm

**Disclaimer:** I do not own PoT  
**Warning:** Slight OOCness and non-yaoi  
**A/N:** Mou…this fanfic is depressing me beyond belief. But anyway, I should probably hurry up with the eighth chapter, so here it is!

Sorry for not updating sooner! Harry Potter 7 came out and I had to finish it, so I dedicated days to finishing it. Well, I'm done so I'll start updating!

---

Ch. 7 The Eye of the Storm

---

A week had passed by. A week of not talking to Sairi.

Ootori was beyond frustrated. He wanted to talk to her, but she couldn't even look him straight in the eye. Furthermore, with Miho clinging to him 24/7, it was hard to find a time to talk to her without Miho, or his parents, finding out. If Miho found him talking to her, she would, of course, report it to his parents.

Furthermore, it was messing up his practices with Shishido. Shishido seemed beyond worried about his double partner, who was losing concentration on the tennis courts. Especially when they played Oshitari and Mukahi. Mukahi's acrobatic style reminded him too much of Sairi's play style. If it was not for Shishido's incredible endurance and dashes, they would have lost. He even screwed up on his Scud Serve.

This was not good. Sakaki-sensei had recently informed them that they would be playing in the National Tournament. Atobe-buchou would not allow it if he were to continue playing like that.

From what he heard about from the girls' side, Sairi's play style seemed to have almost changed from simply an All-Rounder to an almost Aggressive Baseliner. Her shots were more powerful, her moves were more aggressive. It almost seemed like she was taking out her frustration during her practice matches.

He was so happy when Miho had to rush off to the bathroom in the middle of class. Finally, maybe he could talk to Sairi, alone.

She was at her desk, still reading _Pride and Prejudice_. By now, she was almost done with the book. When he approached her, she didn't even look up.

"Sairi." He began.

She turned a page, "What is it, Choutarou-kun?"

Ootori was taken aback. She had never ever used honorifics with his name before, at least not in the past year. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He started.

Sairi put down the book, and for the first time looked into his eyes. He noticed the sky blue wasn't as clear as before. If anything, it seemed more gray.

"Sairi, how long are we not going to talk to each other?" The words came out of his mouth and seemed more demanding that conciliatory.

"I thought that your parents didn't want us to talk. You told me that the day you got engaged to Murakami-san." Sairi was talking rather coolly. If anything, she almost resembled Echizen Ryoma from Seigaku when he was trying to hide his emotions.

"That's beside the point, Sairi. I want to talk to you." He could feel his anger swell up, something that was uncharacteristic of him. "Do you think I'm happy about this situation? Do you think I want this to happen?"

"There's nothing we can do about it. Worst case we wait for it to blow over. I'm sure we'll be over it in a month." Sairi's voice sounded almost bored as she stood up and walked out of the classroom. As Ootori watched her go, he understood her movements. Sairi wanted to talk to him, but not in the classroom. He followed her.

Once outside, she stopped and turned towards him, waiting for what he had to say.

"Sairi…" he began, "I…I didn't want any of this to happen. I hate Murakami-san! I only wanted…but my parents…the business…"

"There's nothing we can really do about it." Her voice was quieter than usual. Ootori glanced at Sairi and noticed her gaze was directed towards the ground.

"Maybe…" Ootori could feel his brain fill with ideas, "We could run away. Run away from all this and be together. Please, Sairi!" He rammed his hands into the wall, cornering Sairi to it as well. The girl's eyes had suddenly changed from a resigned blue-gray to a bright, alert blue.

"Choutarou-kun…we can't…that's crazy…" she stammered.

"I don't care!" Ootori could feel tears welling up.

"Just listen to yourself." Sairi's voice came out coldly. Ootori snapped his head up to look into her eyes, which were now a steely blue. "Do you really think that can work? It's crazy. I didn't expect that to come out of your mouth, Choutarou-ku—"

"Can you just call me Choutarou?" Ootori felt anger rising up again.

"Choutarou?" Miho's voice came from behind him.

Ootori turned, alert. Miho looked surprised, "What were you doing?"

Sairi came out from behind him, "Choutarou-kun was just nervous about nationals and wanted to apologize to Shishido-san for the bad practices. He just wanted me to tell Rio-senpai, so she can tell Shishido-san. That's all." The black-haired girl smiled at Miho and then reentered to classroom.

Miho noticed how sad the smile was. Ootori glared at Miho before entering the classroom as well. His mind swarmed with what he had just said. Of course he knew it was implausible. But, it had escaped his mouth and now Sairi probably viewed him as beyond crazy.

---

As Miho took her seat, she wondered why this week had been especially difficult. Getting Ootori to love her would have been a simple thing…

If only Sairi was a vindictive, jealous girl.

Sairi was not this. She was nice, sweet, and always helpful. Every time they were assigned projects together, Sairi would help her out. Every time she insinuated her engagement to Ootori, Sairi would simply smile. But Sairi never laughed. It was always the same smile. The same sad smile.

Ootori seemed sad too. She had watched him play tennis and he always seemed distracted. He even seemed to have more angry outburst. Most were directed at Mukahi because his play style reminded him of Sairi's.

Miho felt something funny tug at her. She closed it up. For one thing she would continue doing this.

"Murakami-chan? Can I talk to you after school today?" Nakasone Kotone, Sairi's doubles partner, was standing in front of her.

---

Kotone had been watching Sairi for a week. A whole week of watching the girl silently conceal her emotions. If anything, she had developed an almost "Echizen Ryoma" personality, disregarding the fact that the Sairi's mother knew Ryoma's and therefore they were family friends.

Of course, she had examined Miho and Ootori too. Ootori was clearly not satisfied with the engagement, while Miho seemed all too excited to be around Ootori while she was with Ootori, but when she was not she seemed to be contemplating something.

And then she had seen Kirihara's attempt to seduce Sairi. It failed, but it got Kotone thinking. Although it seemed logical for Miho and Ootori to be engaged, their families would have first made sure that the two were well acquainted. The two were not.

The whole thing seemed strange and rushed. And then when Kotone's father asked her to try out a new piece of spyware their company devised that could tap into people's conversations on to their cell phone, she attached it to Miho's. The conversation she heard the previous day explained it all.

"_Miho-chan?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_How's progress doing?"_

"_He's still distant as always."_

"_And the girl?"_

"_Li-san? She's really resistant. If she's upset she certainly can hide it very well. Although, she has assumed a personality very similar to that freshman you mentioned…what was his name?"_

"_Echizen Ryoma?"_

"_Yeah, him."_

"_Perfect. She's bound to break when that Nakasone-san moves away. As for him, you should probably stay with him until I tell you to. He'll probably come to you once he's heard of it all heartbroken. Then you'll break it off with him, crush him."_

_A pause. "Yes."_

"_Well, I expect news tomorrow, Miho-chan."_

"_Okay. Talk to you then Kirihara-kun."_

Kotone had never been so grateful for the tape recorder near her desk. Now it was simply for the course of action. Kotone knew Sairi could not do anything to remedy the situation, she was the victim. That left Kotone to do the uncovering. And she had done so. This would be one last favor to a friend that meant so much to her.

So when Kotone approached Miho, asking to speak to her afterschool, she was confident of what would happen.

---

A/N: Ah…another short chapter.

I'm back from Yale, but college apps have caught me, so I'll try to update as soon as possible.

Moving on to the next chapter!

W-B Chaos


	9. Divine Intervention

**Disclaimer:** Do not own PoT  
**Warning:** Slight OOCness and non-yaoi (why am I warning people about non-yaoi?)  
**A/N:** I feel like I'm rushing through the chapters, but it seems okay. I certainly feel rushed to finish. But that's okay. It's better than lying around and not doing anything.

Hope this chapter is good. I tried to edit it as much as possible. Sorry I haven't updated in a week. I'm trying to update behind my parent's back, and they were home a lot last week. But finally I'm home alone! So I updated.

---

Ch. 8 Divine Intervention

---

School had ended and practice was cancelled. Kotone had told Sairi she had some business and therefore could not walk home with her. The black-haired girl suspected that Kotone was finally going to tell Hiyoshi her feelings.

She was dead wrong.

As Miho approached the ash-brown haired girl, she noticed a strange glint in her green eyes. Kotone was holding something. It looked like a tape.

As Kotone proceeded to play it, Miho's eyes widened in horror.

The tape stopped. There was a long silence

Kotone spoke finally, "Well?"

Miho's eyes were plastered towards the ground, "Are you going to show it to Choutarou or Li-san?"

"That depends."

"What do you mean?" Miho gazed at the other girl, confused.

"I'll leave that to you." Kotone pocketed the tape. "After all, this whole thing can be turned around if you choose to allow it." With that, Kotone departed.

Miho stood there, shocked. No, she wouldn't allow the plan to fail. But, after all she did to the both Ootori and Sairi, maybe this was a good way clear her conscious. No. She remembered Kirihara's promise. For that she would have to somehow get the tape from Kotone. Without planning, Miho took off after the ash-brown haired girl, following silently. Maybe, just maybe there might be a chance to retrieve the tape.

---

After 15 minutes of following the girl, Miho began to wonder just how far away did Kotone live. Glancing around, Miho noticed the familiar settings. They were approaching Rikkaidai. Kotone lived near Rikkaidai?

The ash-brown haired girl rounded the corner. The next voice that spoke caused Miho to shrink. It was Kirihara.

"First off, who are you and what do you want? And how exactly do you know Sairi-chan?"

Kotone spoke next, "I'm Nakasone Kotone, her doubles partner. I assume that answers two of your questions. As for what do I want, I want to get something cleared up."

"Cleared up? What is there to clear up?"

"What you're doing to Sairi."

Kirihara laughed, "Oh that? Well, let's just phrase it this way. I like your friend, and when I like something, I usually get it."

"So you expect to get her by hurting her and comforting her during her time of weakness?"

Kirihara smirked, "You don't have to put it that way. I just want to show her how much I care for her. And, in order to do so, sometimes you have to create situations."

"Is that why you brought Murakami-chan into this?"

"Miho-chan? Oh, so you figured out that part too, huh? Well, she's good at seduction. I figured Ootori-kun would fall for her, but he seems rather resistant. That doesn't matter. I plan to hurt him too for making things difficult between me and Sairi-chan. Miho-chan was very hard to convince you know, such a nice girl. But once she has a goal in mind, she'll stick to it."

"How did you do it then?"

"Simple. Promising her I would go out with her." He snickered, "As if I would want to. But she fell for it, no matter what."

Miho felt the base of her world fall out beneath her. Kotone's voice then said, "How interesting. How about you tell that to Murakami-chan herself?" The ash-brown haired girl turned to face Miho. How did Kotone know she was following her?

Miho turned her attention from Kotone to Kirihara. Her lost eyes gazed into Kirihara's surprised ones. She couldn't take it anymore. She fled.

Kirihara turned angrily towards Kotone. "You…" His fists clenched.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Kotone continued, "My guards are stationed everywhere near me. If you strike me, they will not hesitate to strike you. You really think I'm that stupid?" The ash-brown haired girl smiled. "And they will also ensure that I leave here safely with the information you have just provided me. Do think I'm that thick to think you would just give me the information and allow me to walk away? I knew you wouldn't. But a lesson to you, Kirihara-kun: don't mess with rich families."

Kirihara collapsed onto his knees as Kotone walked off and punched the ground. He glared at the girl, suddenly tempted to hurt her no matter what the circumstances were. But, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw shadows tensing up. He decided against it. But, everything was ruined.

---

"Murakami-chan." Kotone knelt in front of the girl. Miho was too busy stiffling her sobs to notice her location, but that didn't matter. To think that she actually fell for Kirihara's plan. To think that she would selfishly ruin two people's relationship just for her own personal gain. And to think that Kirihara knew that she would do it. She was frightened and ashamed. Frightened of how easily she could have been used and ashamed of herself for acting so selfishly.

Kotone took Miho's hands and slowly placed the tape inside of them. Feeling its smooth contours, Miho's focus snapped back into reality as she looked into Kotone's bright green eyes.

"I trust you know what to do now, Murakami-chan." Kotone stood up and left. This time Miho did not follow.

---

As Miho turned the tape over and over in her hands, she felt her depression channel a strange logic through her head. Was this the same depression Sairi possibly felt?

Well, it was different. Miho's came from the fact that she foolishly believed Kirihara's claim. Sairi's was that she couldn't be with the one person she loved.

Sairi had never done anything to hurt her. Ootori, though he glared at her and hated her, never mistreated her. Both were extremely nice people. Did they really deserve what they had received?

She knew that she did. Acting so selfishly, of course she deserved to have her heart broken. But did they deserve to have theirs?

She would set things right, the next day. There was no school. She dialed Sairi's cell phone number and heard the other girl pick up.

"Can you meet me tomorrow in the park, at 3 p.m.?"

"Sure." Came the answer. Miho hung up and then walked to Ootori's room. She would have a lot of explaining to do.

---

A/N: A short, short chapter! But the next chapter should be fun to write. I'm not sure how long that would be. It seems as if my chapters are getting shorter and shorter.

On to the next one! I'll try to update ASAP.

W-B Chaos


	10. The Passing of the Storm

**Disclaimer:** Do not own PoT.  
**Warning:** Slight OOCness and non-yaoi  
**A/N:** Yay! My favorite chapter! I had to go through and edit the other chapters because I kinda rushed through them. They were depressing me, and I was trying to get out of my depression by rushing them, but I improved them, so yay!

Thanks to the reviewers, once again. I really grateful you pointed out that my main character was turning into a Mary Sue (EWWW). So, I'm trying to change her attitude in this chapter to make her less Mary Sue-ish.

---

Ch. 9 The passing of the storm

---

Sairi stood outside the park at 3 p.m. checking her watch. She frowned. Miho was 1 minute late. It wasn't that Sairi couldn't stand tardiness, but as a band student, 1 minute late meant death by wrath of band director, or in her case, Sakaki-sensei.

"I'm sorry for being late, Li-san!" Miho ran up to her. The girl, despite the smile on her face, seemed a less energetic.

Sairi stared at her, "What is it that you want?"

Miho was trying to catch her breath. When she finally regained composure she looked up into Sairi's eyes. The black-haired girl was taken aback to see those piercing brown eyes filled with a guilt of some sort.

"Murakami-san?" she asked again.

"Let me start with I'm so sorry for everything." Miho's voice was lower. Her composure calmer.

"Everything?"

"That I did to Choutarou…and you."

"Huh?" Sairi raised an eyebrow, confused.

"You know about Kirihara-kun, right?"

Sairi remembered all too well, "Yes."

"Well, when he first saw you, he would stop at nothing to get you to be his. And so, he decided to approach you when you felt your weakest. That would be if Choutarou hurt you in any way."

Sairi remembered the words Kirihara had spoken all too well. They now made perfect sense.

"In order to do so, Kirihara-kun asked me to help it." Miho saw Sairi's eyes gaze at her, surprised. She stammered out the next sentences, "All I had to do was become Choutarou's fiancée. K-Kirihara-kun promised to be my boyfriend if I did. But…it didn't feel right. I mean…you're a great person Li-san…and so is Choutarou. That's one reason why I came to tell you all this. The second is because—"

"Kirihara-kun went back on his promise." Sairi answered for her.

Miho nodded, slightly surprised. "Yes." She then paused before continuing, "I broke off the engagement and told Choutarou everything. His parents are okay with you two seeing each other again. I really am sorry." Miho stopped and expected the worst from Sairi.

Sairi stared at the blond-haired girl before looking away. Her voice came out rather coldly, "Well that certainly was selfish of you."

Miho's stared at the ground, eyes downcast.

"So basically, you came in and could have possibly ruined the friendship Choutarou and I had. And this was all just to fulfill your Kirihara fangirl dream. What kind of a egotistic, blinded mindset do you have?" Sairi's blue eyes shot up to glare at her. Miho shrunk back before noticing the smirk that was spreading over Sairi's face, "I mean I know fangirls are stupid, but what kind of a dumbass actually believes whatever Kirihara-kun says?"

Miho was astounded. Why was Sairi joking about this? Was there anything remotely funny about the situation? The giggles erupting from Sairi said otherwise.

Sairi was doubling over in hysterics and had managed to get out through the laughs, "I mean you seriously believed what Kirihara-kun said!?"

"I did!" Miho defended, "There's nothing funny about that, Li-san!"

"It's Sairi." Sairi straightened up, the laughter gone, but the smile still on her face, "But I guess if Choutarou made a promise like that, I would believe him. Then again, Choutarou is much more trustworthy than Kirihara-kun. Oh, by the way, apology accepted."

Miho had to say she did not except this turn of event. But seeing the black-haired girl give her a genuine smile made her happy. _So this is the real Li Sairi. The one Choutarou fell in love with._

"Murakami-san? Sairi?" Both girls turned to see Ootori standing not far off from them.

"Choutarou? What are you doing here?" Miho asked.

Ootori simply smiled at the blond girl, "I figured you were going to talk to Sairi today. I was right." Ootori then directed his smile at the black-haired girl. The latter blushed.

Miho watched as the two made amends and then began talking. As she walked away, she smiled herself. She never imagined that both of them would accept her apology so easily, but she had never expected Sairi to accept her apology in such a satirical way. Her overall impression of Sairi over the past week was a nice girl who never wanted to hurt anyone. _I guess I was wrong about more than one person_. she thought as she walked off.

---

"Choutarou…" Sairi began.

Ootori interrupted her, "That was the biggest mess ever."

Sairi laughed before noticing the distance between her and Ootori's face. He slowly leaned in allowing his lips to lightly brush hers before slipping his tongue into her mouth. But, Sairi had believed her first kiss would definitely be with Ootori and it would be gentle and sweet. Now she sensed something different in this first kiss.

Aggression.

The same words echoed through her mind once more. Whoever said Ootori was a sweet, nice boy _clearly_ did not know him well enough.

When he withdrew he seemed to want more, slowly breathing into her face, waiting for her reaction.

"Choutarou." She laughed, "Slow down."

"How can I? After all that." Ootori whispered.

Sairi's voice came out in a very matter-of-fact tone, with a hint of playfulness, "Because we're in a public park. Now if I were some innocent bystander, I would not appreciate it if I suddenly saw a couple kissing in front of me."

Ootori stared at her for a second before pulling her towards the nearest clump of trees. The shade and close proximity of the trees helped hide them from any curious eyes. "How about over here?" he then asked.

"Choutarou…that's not what I—"

His arms came around her and he pulled her closer to him. Sairi felt the heat rushing to her cheeks. Ootori gently nuzzled her as he said, "You're so picky. I guess that's one of the reasons why I love you."

"Choutarou…" Sairi was taken aback by the sudden confession, "I…I love you too…"

Ootori then pulled her into an embrace. "I guess we can save another kiss for later, Sairi. Maybe at Tokyo Disneyland? After nationals?"

Sairi nodded before relaxing into his arms.

That left three regulars still single. But Sairi was certain the next regular to be taken would be Kotone, and she would be taken by Hiyoshi.

That was, before she moved.

---

A/N: NO THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! And no, I am not dragging out this fanfic. There's still one more chapter and then the fanfic will end. I'm sorry for those who were looking forward to another Kirihara/Kotone confrontation later on because that was not originally written in, and with school about to start in 3 weeks, I'm super busy with club activities (MUN, Voice Acting, etc), so I could not find time to write it in. Needless to say here's some advice: If you want to have a social life in high school, only be an officer in one club, not two or more. Especially if you go to an super academically driven school that's 90 asian.

Aww..this one was short too. What is up with me and short chapters? Maybe I just like to state things in a short and simple way. After all, this fanfic turned into an abridged Korean drama…almost.

Well, read, review, and have fun!

W-B Chaos.


	11. Epilogue: Clear Skies

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT OWN PoT. I really really wish I did, but I don't.  
**Warning:** Slight OOCness (because we have already established by this point that Choutarou is clearly not the sweet boy he appears to be) and non-yaoi.  
**A/N**: Haha. It's funny how I warn people in every single chapter about the absence of yaoi. But oh well.

Anyway, I'm going to refer to Ootori as Choutarou in this chapter, because Sairi's on closer terms with him, so first name basis now.

GAH! I'm so sorry not for updating on Monday! So many things got in the way (appointments, club stuff) and then next thing you know it's 12 a.m. and I realize I didn't update! I'm so sorry!

But here's the epilogue/last chapter. Enjoy.

---

Epilogue: Clear skies

---

Nationals passed by rather quickly. The boys' team once again lost to Seigaku, but this time in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The girls' team, on the other hand, actually won this year against the Rikkaidai girls' team. It was a joyous occasion with much celebration. Ishikawa-buchou even arranged a dance for the girl regulars. With the help of Sairi, the dance turned into a going away party for Kotone. Sairi did not forget to invite Hiyoshi to the dance, but needed Choutarou's help to do so. It was not easy getting the orange mushroom headed junior to comply, but in the end Hiyoshi showed up and talked to Kotone for quite a long period of time.

Sairi could say the party was a success, if only Kotone had revealed her the details of what happened between Hiyoshi and her. Sairi already had her hands full and could not monitor Kotone's every move. When the dance ended, Kotone's green eyes seemed to be filled with more life than usual. Choutarou later reported that Hiyoshi had left the dance looking particularly happy, which was quite rare for the orange mushroom.

Three days later, Sairi found herself once again rummaging through her closet for clothes to wear. She had to meet Choutarou at the train station at 10 a.m. Considering the fact that it was already 9:30 and she had just gotten out of bed, she would be running late.

Sairi's cell rang. Without checking the caller ID she flipped it open and answered.

"Yeah?"

"Sairi, this is Kotone."

Sairi promptly threw the last bits of her outfit onto her bed before saying, "Kotone, what's up?"

"We're leaving early."

"Huh?" Sairi slammed the closet door shut and proceeded to dress.

Kotone paused for a second, before saying, "My family. We're leaving for America early. My dad just told us. We're leaving today."

"WHAT?" Sairi stopped pulling on her pants. "You're...leaving? When?"

"At 11 a.m. I'm at the airport right now. I didn't get a chance to call you before, everything was so hectic."

Sairi checked the clock. It was now 9:40. If she asked her parents, she could probably get a ride to the airport just in time for Kotone's departure.

But that would mean canceling the date with Choutarou. Sairi clenched her phone, hoping he would understand.

"I'll be right there Kotone." She said before hanging up. Quickly dressing, she rushed out the door. Once her driver was heading over to the airport, she dialed Choutarou's number. It was now 9:55. Nobody answered. Taking a breath she heard his answering message finish.

"Hey, Choutarou…"

---

Sairi practically ran through security to get to the designated gate. By the time she reached the gate, she was out of breath. Kotone was laughing, joking about how Sairi shouldn't have run, no matter how in shape she was.

Sairi simply let out something between a laugh and a pant. "You were leaving. I had to come." She replied.

"What about your date with Ootori-kun?"

"Had to cancel it. I called him. He didn't pick up, so I left a message." Sairi felt her circulation slowly returning.

"I guess he got it."

"Huh?" Sairi gave her friend a strange look and noticed Kotone was looking in the direction she had just ran down.

Standing there was Choutarou, giving her a look akin to "and you didn't think I'd show up." Hiyoshi was standing shyly behind him. Choutarou had apparently dragged him along.

As Hiyoshi and Kotone had a private conversation, Sairi used Choutarou's chest as a cushion as she slowly regained her breath.

"You overact way too much, Sairi." Were the first words out of his mouth.

Sairi let out a small laugh before asking, "And what prompted that comment?"

"You're out of breath." Choutarou put one arm around her, "But I guess you really wanted to see Nakasone-san off."

"Wouldn't you want to see Shishido-san off if he left? You would have done the same." She teased.

"True."

The announcements ordered for first-class passengers on Kotone's flight to board. Sairi turned around just in time to see Kotone place a small kiss on Hiyoshi's cheek, prompting a blush from the mushroom-haired boy. She quickly gave Kotone a hug before the girl walked through the gate.

"Take care." Sairi whispered.

Kotone smiled and winked at her, "I will."

As the three juniors watched Kotone's flight depart, Sairi felt ambivalent. True, the fact Kotone was leaving made her feel sad, but watching the emerging trail of white clouds that followed the airplane's path, she felt something akin to happiness. Everything was starting all over again. Kotone would have a new life in America and she would have a new doubles partner and life with Choutarou.

As Sairi left the airport she wondered how her life would play out. Giving directions to her driver to leave without her, she slipped into Choutarou's car, falling asleep on his shoulder.

It was the end of one story, and the beginning of another.

---

At the end of the day, Sairi found herself curled up on Choutarou's couch. The sound of the boy rummaging through the kitchen echoed throughout the living room.

After everything, they were basically only one step forward from where they began. She smiled to herself.

Sairi allowed to events of the past month to pass through her head. Kirihara, Miho; she wondered how Miho was doing. In the end, she ended up liking that girl. And Kotone. Kotone had been a great friend through it all: uncovering the truth and forcing it out. She remembered while watching Kotone board the plane that although they would be kilometers apart and live separate lives, Kotone would always be with her. At least a part of her would. Always.

Sairi felt the weight of another person on the couch. Looking up from her position, she saw Choutarou climb over her. There was a strange light in his eyes that indicated he wanted something, and nothing was going to stop him from obtaining it.

Sairi closed her eyes and felt Choutarou's lips touch her forehead just like he did back when this all began. Slowly, his tongue progressed from her forehead down to her nose.

Then he withdrew. Sairi opened her eyes to see him smile down at her. But that light was still in his eyes. He gently pulled her up into a sitting position before pressing his lips against hers. The whole time he held her close to him, asserting the same aggression she felt the first time they kissed.

Oh yes. Whoever said Ootori Choutarou was simply a nice boy _clearly_ did not know him well enough.

EL FIN

---

A/N: And that's the end::bows:: I hope it wasn't too corny, and it's not insinuating anything...wrong, if you'd like to know.

So this fanfic's done! As for the sequel, I think I will get to it eventually. Of course it will be rather slow since I need a plot line and time to write it, but I will try nonetheless and it will be posted on fanfiction!

Sometimes I might post other fanfics, but those will be short and will not hinder the progress of the sequel.

Until then, adieu!

W-B Chaos.


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